In a nutshell, the software development on the Point of Sale is done, merged in the trunk, and deployed on our SaaS platform. The overall speed of the POS is improved, and it now works with 100 000 product listings.
The PoSBox software is complete as well; everything works has been tested and re-tested. Receipt printing, barcode scanning, cashbox opening, network auto-discovery, etc.
And as a last-minute surprise, we also secured funding to add more full-time developers on the Point of Sale, who will develop everything needed for bars and restaurants!
Unfortunately, we had issues with our hardware suppliers, which means the shipping didn't finish on time. Transportation of the hardware kits has started for some of our European partners; the rest will begin shipping in a week or two.
I'll explain everything in detail, but first, let's watch a short video that shows you how everything works together.
Receipt Printing
We've based our developments around the Epson TM-T20 Thermal Printer, a very popular and affordable model that suits most business needs. The PosBox communicates with the TM-T20 printer with the ESC/POS protocol and will thus work with other 80mm ESC/POS printers - although we need to whitelist them in the driver, see discussion on the community mailing list on this subject.
We've tried our best to make sure that everything is entirely plug-and-play, works around user errors, and require as little technical expertise as possible. In other words, it 'Just Works'. For example, the printer driver will auto-detect and configure the correct language settings. This currently works with Latin and Cyrillic based languages and a few eastern-based languages; there is on ongoing work to support the remaining ones, please join the mailing list discussion if you are interested in helping us.
The receipt design has also improved. It now displays your company's logo, and custom header and footer messages are addable from the backend. A tax detail listing all the separate tax subtotals can is addable as well.
Cashdrawer
The cashdrawer simply connects to the receipt printer and will open automatically when a cash payment is processed. It can also be opened manually in the POS's payment screen. While we recommend the Metapace K-1, we have successfully tested many other models, and we are confident it will work with any Epson compatible cashdrawer.
Barcode Scanning
Barcode scanning was already supported out of the box by the previous version, but now you can use the postbox to scan barcodes on devices lacking a USB port. While we recommend the Metapace S-61, any decent barcode scanner should work out of the box.
PosBox Setup
Setting up the PosBox couldn't be easier, just plug it to the local network, and start the POS from a locally connected device. The device will quickly auto-detect and connect to the PosBox with all peripherals ready to use.
On the client-side, the PosBox status indicator will notify the user of any potential problem.
Technically, the PosBox consists of a barebone OpenERP install with just three OpenERP Python modules: hw_proxy, hw_escposand hw_scanner. Those modules and their functionalities can be modified and extended, just like any other OpenERP module. They are not restricted to the postbox and can be installed and used on any Linux machine. So if you are running the Point of Sale from a laptop or desktop computer, the PosBox can be replaced by a barebones local OpenERP install.
The PosBox is based on a Raspberry Pi platform with the software placed on an SD-Card. If you already have a Raspberry Pi, you can already test the PosBox by running it with the PosBox disk image.
Other Point of Sale Improvements
The loading time of the Point of Sale is vastly improved; it is now possible to load 100,000 products in less than a minute. And this waiting time will be reduced to zero when we finish implementing the client-side data cache. OpenERP's Point of Sale should now be an incredibly fast experience!
Shipping & Delivery
We have started to ship the Barcode Scanners, Receipt Printers, and Cashdrawers to our European customers last week. As for the PosBox, we have already received most of the hardware, but we are still waiting for the SD-Cards and power supplies. They are arriving this week; then we will even need a few days to install the software and do the packaging.
All of this thanks to You!
With all those improvements, OpenERP's Point of Sale is like brand new and now stands on its own as one of the best Point of Sale solutions on the market. If we managed to do this, it is thanks to all your amazing support and interest in the project ! Especially for all the partners who believed in the project and backed our Indiegogo campaign with the founding partner bundles: Camptocamp, BHC, openBig, Eeezee-IT, Solarsis LDA, ACSONE, Vauxoo, Ekomurz, Datalp, Dao Systems, Eggs Solutions, and OpusVL
And also, the partners who've helped this project with the Founding PosBox Bundle: Willow IT, E. Akhalwaya & Sons, Multibase, Mindesa, bpso.biz and Shine IT.
Thank you all!
